215 on housing savings cooperatives. Federal Law “On housing and construction cooperatives

The impossibility of using mortgages to purchase their own housing by the general population has led to the legislative development of alternative options that make it possible to attract for these purposes not bank capital, but the own funds of persons wishing to purchase an apartment.

The financing mechanism was based on international experience, accumulated primarily in Germany, and Soviet experience in the creation of mutual aid funds.

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Structures designed to help citizens buy housing on alternative mortgage terms are called “housing savings cooperatives” (HSC), whose activities are regulated by Federal Law No. 215-FZ of December 30, 2004.

What relationships are regulated by law?

The law outlines the legal, organizational and economic aspects of the activities of legal entities created for the accumulation and use of public funds for the construction or purchase of housing.

By participating in financing, a citizen becomes a member of the cooperative, acquiring, among other things, the rights and obligations to participate in the management of the organization, which, according to the legislator, should become the main insurance instrument for protecting his rights.

Federal Law No. 215 regulates:

the algorithm for the creation of the ZhNK, its reorganization and liquidation;
basic principles of work and mechanisms of financial stability insurance;
rights and obligations of members of the cooperative and management bodies;
measures of state control and guarantees to protect the interests of citizens.

ZHNK got the following features:

attract financial resources of citizens who are members of the cooperative;
purchase housing with the money of shareholders;
participate in construction as a developer or shareholder;
attract borrowed funds in the amount of not more than 40% of the value of the property owned by the cooperative.

The main idea embodied in the law is to provide regulatory opportunities for pooling the financial resources of citizens in order to purchase residential premises.

Basic provisions

Structurally, the law consists of six chapters and is structured as follows:

Chapter 1 contains general provisions. It describes the relations regulated by the normative act, gives a decoding of the concepts used, and also establishes the main provisions on the ZhNK, its members, constituent documents and the procedure for interaction between shareholders and a legal entity.
Chapter 2 defines the procedures and mechanisms for the creation, reorganization, and liquidation of ZhNK. In particular, it was established that the number of members of the cooperative should be in the range from 50 to 5000 people. The possibility of reorganization is limited to the transformation into LCD, housing cooperative or condominium. It was determined that the supervision of the activities of the organization is entrusted to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, which maintains a register of such legal entities.
Chapter 3 is devoted to the main provisions of the work of the cooperative in attracting and using funds for the purchase of residential premises. This is a key section of the law, detailing the procedure for operating and regulating the relationship of the cooperative and its members, the purchase and transfer of housing, eviction mechanisms upon termination of membership, disclosure of information, reporting and other significant issues.
Chapter 4 describes the management of a cooperative. It determines that the general meeting of members is the supreme governing body, prescribes the procedure for convening it and outlines the range of issues within its competence, sets out the requirements for the work of the board and the general director, and establishes the responsibility of the organization's officials for losses incurred.
Chapter 5 is devoted to the issues of ensuring the financial stability of the WNC and supervision of its activities. This is the most important section of the law, which introduces restrictions on activities, criteria for financial stability and control mechanisms, as well as establishing liability for failure to fulfill obligations, audit requirements. In addition, it spells out the powers of the Central Bank to exercise supervisory functions.
Chapter 6 is titled "Transitional Provisions and Entry into Force of this Federal Law". The normative legal act was issued at the end of 2004, therefore, over the past period, the articles contained in the section have lost their relevance and are of no interest to the average user.

The key articles of the Law describing the procedure for joining a cooperative, as well as the rights and obligations arising from this, are given in the table.

Key points	Articles
Joining the ZhNK	Article 5
Rights of a member of a cooperative	Article 7
Responsibilities and duties of a cooperative member?	Articles 6, 8
Termination of membership or expulsion from WNC	Articles 9, 10, 31, 32
Participation in management	Articles 34–41
Access to the information	Articles 18–21
Payment of shares and membership fees	Articles 24, 25, 27, 47
Acquisition (construction) of housing, the right to use and transfer of ownership	Articles 28–30

In the law on housing savings cooperatives, the following main points can be distinguished:

the name of the legal entity must necessarily contain the words "housing savings cooperative";
the main activity is the purchase of housing for members of the ZhNK;
obligatory registration of members of the cooperative in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities;
limiting the number of members of the cooperative (from 50 to 5000 people).
supervision by the Central Bank;
separation of bank accounts for economic activities and home purchases;
mandatory annual audit;
the possibility of withdrawal and return of share contributions.

The law prohibits the ZHC from doing the following:

issue loans to both individuals and legal entities;
make a donation;
be a guarantor for the obligations of shareholders and third parties;
to invest assets belonging to the cooperative in the authorized capital or property of other legal entities, except for self-regulatory organizations uniting ZhNK.

In accordance with the law, any citizen of Russia who is over 16 years old can become a member of the cooperative.

From the documents you will need only a passport, as well as certificates of TIN and state pension insurance. Other documents required by the bank for issuing a mortgage are not needed in this case.

When joining a cooperative, a member of the cooperative must decide which apartment he wants to buy or build, and indicate this in the application.

As a result, a document will be signed that will determine what the amount of the share contribution is, in what period and in what shares it must be paid.

The most common questions and answers to them after reading the Federal Law on housing savings cooperatives of citizens are given in the table.

Question	Answer
When can I get the right to use housing?	Not earlier than two years after joining the cooperative and subject to payment of at least 30%.
When will the ownership of the apartment pass from the ZhNK to the shareholder?	After payment of the share contribution in full.
What is the amount of the entrance and periodic membership fees?	It is determined by each ZhNK independently.
What installments are required to pay a share contribution?	Depends on the chosen form of participation and is determined upon joining the cooperative.
What is the maximum loan repayment period?	One and a half period of primary accumulation. The latter, according to the law, is at least two years, so most often the maximum period is three years.

Usually a cooperative member becomes eligible for an apartment after two years. If he pays half the installment by that time, then the loan allocated to him should be interest-free.

With a lower figure (from 30 to 50%), a part of the amount (maximum 20%) of the ZhNK will not be entitled to cover from the shareholders' funds. The organization will need to take out a loan for this purpose, the obligation to repay the interest of which will fall on its member.

In practice, most housing savings cooperatives, unwilling to deal with banks or unable to receive money on favorable terms, prefer schemes for providing housing after paying at least half of its cost, which is also allowed by law.

Controversial moments and shortcomings

World practice shows that ZhNK work perfectly in a stable economy. With galloping inflation and unpredictable dynamics of housing prices, such organizations may experience difficulties that will lead to the impossibility of fulfilling their obligations to shareholders.

In order for such an organization to function normally, two conditions must be met:

regular receipt of contributions for the maintenance of the apparatus and the implementation of regular payments;
the funds returned by the borrowers should be enough to issue new loans.

If the market is stable, then there are no such problems, and the system functions perfectly.

The crisis may cause an outflow of shareholders, which will lead to the inability to maintain the required management staff. And rising prices will require an increase in share contributions to cover the deficit of the budget intended for issuing loans.

So far, the funded cooperation market is poorly developed. According to the Central Bank, as of today, only 86 such organizations have been registered, and 20 of them are in the process of liquidation.

Disadvantages of the WNC include:

rather high costs for membership fees lost when leaving the cooperative;
it is required to wait at least two years from the moment of joining the organization before obtaining a loan and, accordingly, acquiring an apartment;
the rights to real estate do not belong to the shareholder, but to the ZHNK, until the person fully pays off the loan, which means that there are risks of losing housing due to dishonest actions or errors of the cooperative's management.

The first two points are a peculiar and low fee for the use of alternative sources of financing, if compared with mortgage lending.

The last disadvantage can be leveled by the choice of a reliable ZhNK and active participation in its work.

It should be noted that such financing schemes are intended for people with an active lifestyle - no Central Bank can control the work of the board of the cooperative better than the shareholders themselves.

Information about changes and additions

During the existence of the Federal Law has undergone a small number of changes and additions.

The most important adjustments were made on 07/23/2013. They are connected with the fact that the FFMS of Russia, which was entrusted with control over the activities of the ZhNK, was abolished, and its functions were transferred to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

At the same time, the term "control" was replaced by "supervision". This is not just a game of terms, but a significant change in the relationship between the representative of the state - the Central Bank and the organization being audited - the housing savings cooperative.

New buildings have become relevant and often profitable prospects for acquiring their own housing. Basically, they provide a lot of advantages and nuances that distinguish them favorably in the real estate market. This applies to the purchase by installments, with the use of maternity capital, interest-free loans, etc.

But in such an important responsible matter, it is important not only to study what the developer promises in the end. It is impossible to lose sight of some details that are inconspicuous at first glance. We are talking about federal law, according to which construction is or will be carried out.

When buying a home on the secondary market, you can and should inspect it, identify the advantages and disadvantages. With new buildings, this is not possible, and you can only study the project, which will have colorful pictures. In fact, a purchase is being made of what is not yet available at the time of the transaction. Therefore, laws cannot be overlooked - they may contain nuances and moments that can protect the rights of a shareholder in case of unforeseen circumstances, or vice versa, aggravate the current situation.

To answer the question of whether it is worth buying apartments that are built according to 215-FZ, you need to refer to this law.

The essence of 215 federal law

The signing of an agreement on the purchase of an apartment in a new building under 215-FZ means that those who wish to acquire housing act as a member of a housing construction cooperative (HBC). This form of purchase is absolutely legal and very attractive in terms of cost. This is explained by the absence of compulsory insurance of new buildings and the taxation of VAT contributions. In addition, you can take a mortgage or use maternity capital.

You can independently insure the transaction in the selected insurance company. But the penalty for the postponement or delay in the delivery of housing to the housing cooperative in this case is not provided. In such a situation, the termination of the transaction with the housing cooperative with subsequent appeal to the court does not guarantee the return of funds. The housing and construction cooperative can return them only if there is the necessary amount in the account. If the funds are not there, there will be no payments. The regulation of payment for apartments and all other issues in the housing cooperative is carried out only according to the charter of the cooperative. Chapters 11 and 12 of the Housing Code are devoted to it, but one should not pin hopes on the law "On Protection of Consumer Rights". It does not apply to facilities that are under construction or have already been built according to 215-FZ, and this distinguishes it from 214-FZ. After all, housing cooperatives, by definition, are a form of interaction between the citizens themselves with the aim of uniting them for the construction and management of housing. A clear connection between shareholders and the developer is not regulated. In fact, during the construction under this law, the participants of this cooperative appear mainly, they become co-investors.

Clear deadlines for the completion of the object may not be indicated, and if they are, the housing cooperative cannot act as a guarantor, since it does not appear as a developer and is not responsible for its actions.

It is worth carefully studying all aspects of the agreement. If these deadlines are fixed, this inspires confidence in the majority. Only for the co-op, they do not have the same power for the above reasons.

Delivery of the object

Particular attention should be focused on the presence of the phrase "The contract is valid from the moment of signing until the fulfillment of all obligations" - it means that the contract is valid until the developer hands over the object. But this may happen in 10 years. Of course, the claim cannot be denied for this reason, but it is advisable to file a claim only if the approximate dates are delayed by a significant time period (for example, 6 months).

The attractive price at the time of the conclusion of the contract at the beginning of construction may increase throughout the construction period. In case of insufficient funding, the buyer can present all claims exclusively to the cooperative. That is, to himself, since he is a member of this housing cooperative under an agreement.

Equity agreement or housing cooperative?

Legislatively, in matters of new buildings, a shareholder is more protected than a member of a housing cooperative. Interest holders are protected from double sales and fraud, their cases will be given priority in court in case of force majeure. But none of the contracts guarantees that the construction will be completed on time. Therefore, it is important to study not only the contract, the sales scheme, but also the history of the developer, experience and reputation.

From here, draw a conclusion on your own whether you are ready to take risks and conclude an agreement on the purchase of housing under construction according to Federal Law-215.

You can purchase housing from both the developer and contractors. Read about the advantages and disadvantages of buying an apartment from a contractor.

FZ-215 regulates relations that arise as a result of activities in housing construction memberships. A member of the housing cooperative has the right to transfer his share to a third party or bequeath it to a close relative. The main duty of the participants of the housing cooperative is to comply with the established rules.

Federal Law No. 215 was adopted on December 22, 2004 by the State Duma of the Russian Federation. The legislative act was approved on December 24 of the same year. The Federal Law “On Housing Savings Cooperatives” came into force on December 30, 2004.

FZ-215 defines the legal, economic and organizational basis for the activities of housing savings cooperatives.

The law states:

rights and obligations of members of accumulative housing cooperatives;
the order of their creation;
reorganization and liquidation of housing cooperatives;
the procedure for carrying out activities to attract and use funds in housing savings cooperatives.

Accumulative housing cooperative has the right to carry out only the activities prescribed in this law. According to FZ-215 housing cooperative created without limitation of the period of activity. It must be liable for all its obligations and property belonging to it, but it is not liable for the obligations of its members.

The requirements for relations between a housing cooperative and its members are spelled out in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, this Federal Law, Central Bank regulations and other legal documents. According to the provisions of FZ-215 housing cooperative has the right to open Russian bank accounts.

A housing cooperative must maintain a register of each of its members.

The register must contain:

Full name of the member of the housing cooperative;
an identity card or other document confirming the identity of a member of the community;
phone number, postal address, e-mail, entering the community;
form of participation;
other information provided for by the charter of the housing cooperative.

Number members of a housing cooperative should be exactly 50 , no more and no less than this figure.

Download Federal Law 215 on housing savings cooperatives in a new edition

The federal law "On housing savings cooperatives" includes 6 chapters and 58 articles. According to the articles of the law, any citizen who has reached the age of 16 can become a member of the cooperative. To become its full member, a citizen must write an application and, on its basis, he will be accepted into the community.

To familiarize yourself with the Federal Law-215 with changes for 2017, download it from.

Changes in the law on housing cooperatives

The last changes to FZ-214 were made on July 3, 2016. The amendments concerned : h 3 st 14, p 1 h 1 st 17, p 2 h 1 st 20, h 3 st 20, h 6 st 27, n 5 h 2 st 48, n 4 h 1 st 51, n 8 h 1 st 51 .

With the last change in FZ-214, the law was excluded: n 2 and n 3 h 4 st 56, ch 2 st 58, n 1 h 5 st 56 and ch 2 st 56.

Part 3 Article 14 was supplemented by the proposal “established by the Federal Law of July 13, 2015 N 223-FZ “On Self-Regulatory Organizations in the Financial Market” of the requirement for mandatory membership in a self-regulatory organization in the financial market that unites housing savings cooperatives.”

Clause 1 of part 1 of article 17 was supplemented with information on a self-regulatory organization in the field of the financial market, which unites housing savings cooperatives.

AT Clause 2 of part 1 of article 20

Part 3 Article 20 has been revised in a new edition. After the latest amendments, it sounds like this: the annual reporting of the cooperative's activities must be submitted to the bank.

AT Part 6 Article 27 the same information was added as in clause 1 of part 1 of article 17.

AT Point 5 of part 2 of article 48 a restriction related to the activities of cooperatives was added.

From paragraph 4 of part 1 of article 51 the words: “and about self-regulatory organizations of housing savings cooperatives” were excluded.

AT Clause 8 of part 1 of article 51 the rights of banks were added to control the activities of housing associations.

Below are articles that have not been changed in the last edition, but they are important.

Article 6

Article 6 spells out the responsibility of the members of the housing cooperative. It includes:

a member of a cooperative shall be liable to him in accordance with the provisions provided for by this law;
members of the housing cooperative bear losses and risks associated with the activities of the community;
community members are responsible in case of non-compliance with the rules and regulations prescribed in the regulations.

Article 7

Article 7 indicates rights members of the housing cooperative:

participate in management and be elected to its bodies;
use all the services provided;
choose the form of participation in its activities;
receive housing from the cooperative for use in the manner prescribed by Federal Law-215;
enjoy the provided benefits;
participate in the distribution of income;
bequeath a share;
transfer shares to a third party and others.

Article 8

Article 8 regulates responsibilities members of the housing cooperative:

observance of the charter;
timely payment of contributions and share payments;
not interfere with the activities of other participants;
perform other duties provided for by this law.

Article 9

Article 9 describes the moments at which it is possible membership termination in ZhSK:

voluntary care;
exclusion without the will of the participant;
transfer of shares to a third party;
foreclosure for a share and others.

Article 10

A member of the housing cooperative may be excluded from the partnership by force, if:

he repeatedly failed to fulfill his duties;
violated discipline;
did not pay contributions and payments for his share on time.

An exception can also be made through the court.

Article 11

Article 11 describes charter of housing cooperative and its components:

name and location;
the subject and goals of the activity;
the procedure for admission to the membership of the cooperative;
the procedure for determining the amount, composition and procedure for making share and other contributions;
responsibility for violation of the order;
rights and obligations of members of the membership;
funds created by the cooperative and others.

Article 16

Article 16 describes housing cooperative rights:

use the attracted funds of people to purchase housing;
invest money in the construction of residential premises, as well as participate in the construction of residential premises as a developer or participant in shared construction;
purchase residential buildings;
attract borrowed money in the case provided for by part 3 of article 47 of this Federal Law.

Article 33

Bodies of the housing cooperative:

general meeting of all its participants;
governing body;
auditor;
executive bodies.

Their activities are regulated by the charter of the housing cooperative. The board's term of office expires on election day.

AT article 34 outlined the general provisions of the meeting of members of the cooperative. Each participant has only 1 vote. The board of the cooperative convenes a meeting and convenes an extraordinary meeting.

To learn more about all the chapters of FZ-215, download it.

One of the most important questions that interest buyers of new buildings: Is it possible to buy this new building? Is it profitable to invest in a particular residential complex? Are the buyer's rights protected?
In response, you can always hear from the representative of the developer: Of course, construction is carried out according to 214 Federal Laws, and not 215. And everyone nods their heads in the affirmative, but is it really clear how exactly Federal Law No. 214 protects the buyer? What is its difference from Federal Law No. 215?
Federal Law No. 214- this is a law on participation in shared construction, replaced from July 1, 2019 with the concept of project construction of apartment buildings and other real estate, Federal Law No. 215- This is the law on housing savings cooperatives. From this follow their distinctive features:

Previously, FZ 214 was formalized by an equity participation agreement, from July 1, 2019, developers will be able to attract citizens' money only to special accounts in authorized banks. That is, the client will pay for the construction of his apartment not to the developer, but to the bank. The funds will be held in special escrow accounts until the construction of the facility is completed and the house is put into operation.
In addition, the construction company must have equity capital of at least 10% of the total project cost of building a house. At the same time, the opportunity to buy an apartment at the initial stage of construction will remain the same.
Construction companies will invest in construction either their own funds or loans taken from banks.
These changes will minimize the risks of citizens from losing client funds. In turn, after the completion of construction, the buyer is obliged to accept the apartment in accordance with the inspection report.

The Federal Law-214 strictly stipulates the period, the period according to which the developer is obliged to transfer the construction object, the specific project construction object to be transferred on the basis of ownership, the price, the term for its payment, the warranty period for the construction object;

Federal Law 215 provides for membership in a cooperative, and thus the relationship between the housing cooperative and its participants is fixed. Joining a housing cooperative is determined by the charter of the housing cooperative and the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, but not by the law of FZ 215. You can become a member of the housing cooperative after submitting an application to the housing cooperative and paying the entrance membership fee and the first share fee. At the same time, information about the participant is transferred to the state register of legal entities.
The participants of a housing-construction cooperative under the charter may have obligations, for example, this may be an obligation to pay membership and entrance fees (in addition to shares). Therefore, it is necessary to carefully study the charter and all constituent documents of the housing cooperative, as well as what is the procedure and amount of contributions payable and the payment schedule itself, etc.

What exactly are the provisions of Law No. 214 that protect the participant in construction project financing?

The bank, on whose account the funds of citizens will be placed, will control and have the right to refuse to conduct operations related to misuse of funds. Other monetary transactions for the construction of an object outside the framework of the law on shared construction will be prohibited.

According to Article 12.1 of Federal Law No. 214, the obligations of the developer must be ensured in one of the following ways:
1) According to articles 13-15 of the Federal Law No. 214 as a pledge,
2) According to article 15.1 of the Federal Law No. 214, a guarantee
3) Liability insurance in case of bankruptcy, or a bank guarantee for failure to fulfill the obligation to transfer the object.

What does a participant in an equity participation agreement get from these methods of securing obligations?
1) return of money that the participant contributed under the equity participation agreement or by virtue of law No. 214,
2) payment of losses, penalties, fines, penalties that are due to a participant in shared construction for the delay in the delivery of a real estate object or improper fulfillment of obligations by the developer to transfer rights to the object, as well as all payments secured to him by the contract and (or) federal laws.

The conclusion of an agreement on the purchase of an apartment under Federal Law-215 means that the future member of the cooperative wishes to acquire housing, becoming a member of the cooperative and investing his own funds.
This form of contract is completely legal and more attractive in terms of cost. This is due to the lack of cash insurance, VAT payment, the ability to hire less expensive contractors (who agree to work for cash).
When buying an apartment under FZ-215, you can use both maternity capital and take out a mortgage. Houses are usually low-rise and quickly built.
But there are much more risks during the acquisition - starting from the lack of insurance to the impossibility of putting the facility into operation.
For HBC participants, the return of the invested money is possible only upon leaving the cooperative. ZhSK can return them only if there are necessary funds in the account. If there is no money there, the payment is impossible. All legal issues are resolved only according to the charter of the cooperative.

The legal, economic and organizational bases for the activities of housing savings cooperatives are determined to attract and use funds from citizens - their members for the purchase or construction of residential premises in order to transfer them for use and after making share contributions in full to the property of members of housing savings cooperatives, as well as guarantees for the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of citizens - members of housing savings cooperatives are established. The legal status of housing savings cooperatives, the rights and obligations of their members, the procedure for the creation, reorganization and liquidation of housing savings cooperatives, as well as the procedure for their activities to attract and use citizens' funds for the purchase of residential premises are established.

The number of members of the cooperative cannot be less than 50 and more than 5 thousand people. Members of the cooperative bear the risk of losses associated with the activities of the cooperative within the limits of their share savings.

The requirements for ensuring the financial sustainability of the cooperative's activities are established. In particular, the amount of the part of the share contribution, after the payment of which the right to acquire or construct a dwelling by the cooperative for transferring it to the use of a member of the cooperative arises, cannot be less than 30% of the size of the share contribution of the member of the cooperative. The cost of acquiring rights to residential premises under construction in the manner of equity participation and the cost of residential premises being constructed by a cooperative should not exceed 20% of the value of the property of the cooperative. The minimum term for a member of a cooperative to make a part of the share contribution, after making which the right to acquire or construct a dwelling for a member of the cooperative arises, is determined by the charter of the cooperative. At the same time, starting from the second year of the cooperative's activity in attracting and using citizens' funds for the purchase of residential premises, the specified minimum period cannot be less than two years. A list of transactions that a cooperative can make only after obtaining the consent of the general meeting of members of the cooperative is given.

Constituent documents of previously established cooperatives and other organizations and engaged in activities to attract and use citizens' funds for the purchase of residential premises, with the exception of the constituent documents of housing and housing-construction cooperatives, shall be brought into line with the Federal Law within a year from the date of its entry into force.

The federal law enters into force ninety days after the day of its official publication, with the exception of a number of provisions for which a different period of entry into force is established.